1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to shop tools and equipment and more particularly to an expandable sawhorse generally used in a carpentry workshop environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The sawhorse is one of the fundamental tools that has been used by carpenters and craftsmen world wide for centuries. The fundamental structure has not changed, only the uses of this light weight portable device seem to have increased. Representative examples of prior art similar devices are seen in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,339 issued Jun. 26, 1973 to Eubank shows the classic structure, with a main beam supported by a pair of collapsible legs. Design patent, number Des. 245,105 issued Jul. 19, 1977 to Rader shows the classic design with a pair of parallel main beams and a pair of removable legs. Sansotta et al. show, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,319, issued Dec. 8, 1987 another sawhorse including a main beam formed from a metal channel(13) with a wooden face (18) and a pair of legs (12) that pivot and fold into the gap (27) between the flanges of the channel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,757 issued Aug. 16, 1988 to Cheney discloses a sawhorse including innovative intermediate plates below the main beam and between the support legs. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,966 issued to Boudreau on May 22, 1990 again shows the classic sawhorse with a main beam and a pair of legs that, in this case, pivot inwardly.
While the main function of the sawhorse is to support objects and things, none of the prior art devices provide the benefits that the present invention provides in the form of an ability to provide support over a wider surface area without materially increasing the size of the sawhorse itself.